EPA supports new ban on sales of gas-powered cars in California

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved California’s plan to phase out and ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. The EPA said it has granted California the exemptions it needs to activate the EPA Designed and certified by the California Air Resources Board in 2022.

The EPA also approved a California plan to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from heavy vehicles in order to reduce the amount of smog in the air. The state would require an initial 75 percent reduction in NOx pollution followed by a 90 percent reduction after a few years.

ACC II provides an annual scheme for phasing out the sale of combustion engine vehicles. The plan sets a deadline of 2026 when 35 percent of vehicle sales in the state must be electric vehicles, hybrids or models containing hydrogen fuel cells. Then by 2030, the EV sales threshold will rise to 68 percent before reaching a final 100 percent sales requirement by 2035. Consumers and dealers will still be able to buy, sell and drive used ICEs and hybrids up to ACC II. California Air Resources Board President Leanne Randolph estimated that the ACC II project could lead to a 50 percent reduction in pollution by 2040.

California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the decision and the second ACC As proof that “California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning the air and cutting pollution.”